Teacher Activity Notes: Cardiovascular Disease Risk Scoring

PLAN

Students complete a personal inventory to determine their own Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score in order to address ways of improving long-term cardiovascular health.

Objectives

Students:

estimate their present health rating.

determine the actual rating by completing the personal inventory.

discuss ways of improving cardiovascular health

Student Materials

Activity Guide

Activity Report 1

Activity Report 2

Advance Preparation

Review the concept of homeostasis.

If not yet completed, have students do Enrichment 6-1: Your Blood Pressure instead of having blood pressure taken in the community.

Estimated Time

One class period

IMPLEMENT

Step 1

After students have completed their own health inventories, have them invite parents, guardians, or other family members to complete the inventory. Discuss lifestyle changes at home with participating family members. Students may wish to report their experiences with the class.

Step 2

You may want to collect results for all students and determine an average total for the class. The results could be displayed in graph form by male/female or grade level comparisons.

Step 3

You may wish to follow up this activity with a Personal Fitness Commitment Plan.

ASSESS

Use this culminating activity to assess if students can:

identify the factors that contribute to a healthy cardiovascular system.

explain the effects of cholesterol level, exercise, stress, and smoking on the cardiovascular system.

demonstrate how to rate their overall cardiovascular fitness.

explain how the change of certain behaviors can improve their cardiovascular fitness.

There are many factors that contribute to your cardiovascular health. Now that you know what some healthy and some unhealthy behaviors are, take a look at your own lifestyle. Do you think you lead a heart-smart life?

Materials

Activity Report 1

Activity Report 2

Procedure

Answer the questions below to determine your own score regarding each of the risk factors or characteristics currently associated with cardiovascular disease. Record the scores for each section on your Activity Report.

I. Blood Pressure

Do you know your blood pressure? If not, it only takes a few minutes to have it taken. The test is free at most health clinics. If you know your blood pressure, give yourself the following number of points:

1 point if your systolic blood pressure is between and and your diastolic pressure is between and .

3 points if your systolic blood pressure is between and and your diastolic pressure is between and .

If you don't know your blood pressure, there are ways you can guess if it is at a healthy level. Give yourself the following number of points:

1 point if you are not overweight for your age and height, have no family history of high blood pressure, use little or no salt in cooking or at the table, and avoid processed food.

2 points if you are not more than overweight, have little or no family history of high blood pressure, rarely use salt at the table or in cooking, and avoid the saltiest processed foods.

3 points if you are to overweight, have a close relative with high blood pressure, often salt food at the table and use an average amount in cooking, and eat a lot of processed food.

5 points if you are more than overweight, salt food regularly, and eat a lot of salty snacks and prepared food.

II. Cholesterol

Do you know your cholesterol level? Many people don't. But it's a good idea to have it checked. You can gauge your cholesterol level by analyzing your diet. Give yourself:

1 point if you use non-fat dairy products and/or seldom eat egg yolks, red meat, fat or oil, or your cholesterol level has been checked and is normal for your age.

2 points if you eat only egg yolks a week; eat lean red meats, chicken or fish; little cheese; drink non-fat or low-fat milk; and eat little fat or oil, or your cholesterol level has been checked and is within the normal range for your age.

3 points if you eat egg yolks a week; eat red meat and cheese or ice cream often; drink whole milk; and eat fast food and other high-fat food frequently, or your cholesterol level has been checked and is slightly above the normal range for your age.

4 points if you eat more than 6 eggs a week and red meat or cheese more than once a day; drink whole milk; and eat a lot of cream, butter, and high-fat processed foods and fast foods, or your cholesterol level has been checked and is well above the normal range for your age.

III. Exercise

Do you lead an active life? Aerobic exercise that strengthens your heart is exercise that keeps your whole body moving enough to make you sweat slightly and breathe deeply. You should do this type of exercise for at least , without stopping, at least four times a week. There are many exercises that strengthen your heart, such as brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, dancing, racquetball, basketball, and bicycling. Golf, softball, baseball, bowling, bodybuilding, and tennis are not heart-building exercises. Give yourself:

1 point if you exercise aerobically or more times a week.

2 points if you exercise aerobically to a week.

3 points if you seldom exercise aerobically.

4 points if you never exercise aerobically.

IV. Stress

Stressful situations don't necessarily increase your risk of heart disease. The most important factor is how you respond to the stressful situation. Sometimes stressful situations can be positive experiences for you. However, they are likely to be harmful if you are often worried, find it hard to relax, feel constantly rushed, or are afraid you will never get everything done on time. Give yourself:

Add up your points to get your total score. You may want to copy this score sheet into your notebook.

Part I: Blood Pressure Score_________

Part II: Cholesterol Score_________

Part III: Exercise Score_________

Part IV: Stress Score_________

Part V: Smoking Score_________

Total Points _________

Interpreting Your Score:

Score:

5-8 Congratulations! You are in great shape. Your risk of heart disease is well below average.

9-13 There is always room for improvement. Your risk of heart disease is near the national average, which is already too high. Identify those aspects of your lifestyle that you can change to lead a healthier life.

14-17 Your lifestyle shows lots of room for improvement. Your heart will someday show the effects of your lifestyle. Take careful stock of your behavior, and bring your score down.

18-22 Your lifestyle will put you in a high-risk category for heart attacks when you are an adult. It may be vitally important for you to change your lifestyle. See a doctor for ways to improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risks of heart disease.

No matter what your score, identify the changes you can make in your lifestyle in order to increase your overall cardiovascular fitness.

1. According to my Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score, the following are risk factors that I have identified in my life and that I believe I can reasonably and possibly change. Identify each risk factor and what a healthy goal for reducing this risk factor would be.

a.

b.

c.

d.

2. Think about how you can reach the goals mentioned above. Below, address each specific goal and the steps needed to achieve it. It may be helpful to work with a friend on a particular goal. If you choose to do this, indicate it on the form.

My goals for modification of these risk factors are:

a. By __________ (date) I will_______

_____________________________________________

My plan for accomplishing this is:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

b. By__________ (date) I will

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

My plan for accomplishing this is:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

c. By__________ (date) I will

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

My plan for accomplishing this is:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

d. By__________(date) I will

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

My plan for accomplishing this is:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

3. If you are satisfied that you have put in your best effort to design a fitness program that:

incorporates what you have learned about the circulatory system,

takes into consideration what your risk factors are,

provides several ways to reduce your risk factors, and

offers a stepwise, workable plan to modify and monitor your risk factors one step at a time, sign and date your Personal Fitness Commitment Plan.

Signed _______________________ Date ________

4. Why should you try to modify your lifestyle to eliminate or reduce these risk factors?

5. What possible obstacles do you foresee that may make it difficult to accomplish your goals?

6. What can you do if you find yourself falling back into unhealthy behaviors or neglecting your Personal Fitness Commitment Plan?